Zhang Sanfeng who, according to legend, watched a fight between a crane and a snake. After being impressed by the way the two animals fought, he is aid to have invented a style of fighting called Mien Chuen (Cotton Fist) that would evolve into modern day Tai Chi Chuan. Continue reading ...

The lei tai is an elevated fighting arena without railings that dates back in its current form to the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279 CE) in Chinese history though older versions date back to the Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BCE). Fighters would take part in matches that were presided over by a referee on the platform and judges on the sides in bouts that were fought bare knuckle or with deadly weapons. Some were to the death, though usually the winner would be determined when someone surrendered, was i... Continue reading ...

Information: This woodblock is taken from the Xiuzhen Miyao, a Qigong text with 49 exercises designed to promote a fit and healthy body. The text is of unknown origin but was rediscovered and published with a preface by Wang Zai in 1513. This illustration depicts Bai Qi Chong Ding (One hundred Qi rushing to the top of the head) and is an exercise designed to treat pain throughout the body. To perform the exercise, the patient must sit on a h... Continue reading ...

In the scene above from the 1973 classic Bruce Lee movie Enter the Dragon, the main character, Mr Lee, encounters a bully while travelling on a boat. When ask of his style, Lee replies;

“You can call it the art of fighting without fighting”.

He agrees to show the bully his art but instead of violence, he uses his intelligence and traps the bully on a smaller boat. This segment of the film was adapted from a similar incident that is said to have happened to a 16th century samurai warrio... Continue reading ...

This picture of warrior monks from the Shaolin Temple in the Henan Province was taken some time in the 1920s. It clearly demonstrates that they had become modernized in their fighting methods, learning from the mistakes of an earlier generation of monks who believed they could use traditional forms of fighting against soldiers with guns. They used talisman and spells to protect them from bullets during the Boxer Rebellion of 1901, a mistake that led to the uprising being easily quashed and on... Continue reading ...

Cheung Lai Chuen, (born around 1880) was a kung fu legend who mastered Lei Ga (Lee Style), Lung Ying (Southern Dragon Style), Lau Man Gaau (Vagabond or Wanderer's Style) and Pak Mei (White Eyebrow Style), which he adapted and took out of secrecy, popularizing the art in Hong Kong around the turn of the 20th century.

This image depicts the moment of inspiration for the invention of the art of Tai Chi Chuan, at least according to some sources. Chang Sanfeng is thought to have watched a fight between a snake and a bird in the 15th century and got the idea to build a style of fighting around his extensive knowledge of Taoist philosophy and internal energy. Continue reading ...

Sun Lu-t'ang (or Sun Lutang) was a master of the internal arts and was instrumental in the invention of the syncretic art of Sun-style t'ai chi ch'uan. Born in 1860, he was also an expert in Neo-Confucian and Taoist scholarly pursuits and was a master at two other internal martial arts; xingyiquan (hsing-i ch'uan) and baguazhang (pa-kua chang). He came to t’ai chi relatively late in life but mastered it very quickly and spent much of his later career teaching t’ai chi to members of the pu... Continue reading ...

This video demonstrates a training method used by Shaolin monks to strengthen or condition their legs. Known as Iron Body, by repeatedly hitting parts of their body over a period of years they make it gradually get stronger and stronger.

Yang Lu-ch'an also known as Yang Fu-k'ui or Yang Fukui (1799-1872), was an influential master of t'ai chi ch'uan during the 19th century who founded the Yang-style. After a modest upbringing, Yang was hired by the Imperial family in 1850 to teach them and several of their élite Manchu Imperial Guards Brigade units martial arts.

At this time, he taught the Taijiquan style and is credited with spreading it throughout China, being named by four of the five Taijiquan families as having transmitt... Continue reading ...

Image: Bodhidharma on an ElephantDate: c.17th CenturyArtist: YiranInfo: This picture on a silk hanging scroll depicts Bodhidharma, the Indian monk who is credited by many as being the founder of Shaolin Kung Fu.

Chen Fake (1887–1957) was a master of t’ai chi ch’uan who was instrumental in the spread of his style, Chen-style taijiquan, when he took it from his home in the Henan Province in 1928 and started teaching it in Beijing. As the style is largely based on internal energies, Chen Fake feared its subtle properties may be lost to future generations so he created an external form known as Xin Jia (New Frame) to add a visual framework to the internal movements. Continue reading ...

Wu Quanyou (1834–1902), or Wu Ch'uan-yu as he was also known was a t’ai chi ch’uan master from China. He taught many great exponents of the art including his son, Wu Chien-ch'uan who created the Wudang style of t'ai chi ch'uan, and Maozhai who was the creator of the Northern Wu Style Wang. Wu Quanyou is believed to have had great abilities; in particular he excelled in skills that involved neutralizing hard external energy and developing the flow of soft internal energy (chi).

Yip Man and his most famous student Bruce Lee, practicing Chi Sao or Sticky Hands (c.1955). Chi Sao is an exercise that is designed to improve the reflexes of the martial artist and is a favourite technique amongst Wing Chun practitioners of all levels. Continue reading ...

Fighting Systems

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